Story and Photos by Georgene Quilaton-Tambiga, Colegio de Sto. Tomas-Recoletos
“A great opportunity to work together and to learn from each other,” is how Rev. Fr. Antonio Carrón, OAR, President of EDUCAR, described the newly presented EDUCAR International Work Teams. During the virtual Meeting with OAR Schools in the Philippines today, October 23, 2020, at least 18 representatives from different education centers—universities, colleges, and high schools—in Philippines met with Prior General Rev. Fr. Miguel Miró, OAR and Fr. Carrón. Fr. Miró, in his brief welcome address, encouraged the Recollect priests and lay educators in the Philippines as they collaborate in the International Work Teams. The Prior General called the collaborators to take advantage of this opportunity to work in an international network of sharing among different Recollect schools.
Among the objectives of the virtual meeting are: 1) the review of the Institutional Educational Project that began in 2015; 2) organization of regional and national teams to facilitate the management of Recollect education centers; 3) establishment of spiritual programs at the regional and national levels that promote evangelization in schools; 4) application of Management and Quality Assessment Models for Augustinian Recollect Education Centers; 5) integration of the Corporate Identity Manual as applied to education centers; and, 6) creation of four International Work Teams.
Fr. Carrón identified five geographical regions where Recollect education centers are present and where collaboration can easily take place. Among them are: the region of Brazil, Argentina and Peru in the northern part of South America; the region of Columbia and Venezuela in the south; the Philippines; Spain; and the region consisting of Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Dominican Republic, where each has one Recollect education center.
International Work Teams for Ministry, Communication, Training, and Projects were presented with their team leaders and members from different Recollect educational apostolate regions. Rev. Fr. William Villaflor, OAR, Secretariat of Recoletos Educational Apostolate in the Philippines (REAP), believes that “each education center in the Philippines has something to contribute” to the International Work Teams.
International virtual meetings to extend the network of EDUCAR have begun this October 2020. Fr. Carrón emphasized that Philippine education centers will have so much to share to its sister schools although implementation of projects will be in the cultural and social contexts of each country where Recollect Educational Apostolate is present.